Gautam Navlakha's Bail Plea in Bhima Koregaon Violence Case: Bombay High Court Issues Notice to NIA
The Bombay High Court has taken a significant step in the Bhima Koregaon violence case of 2018 by issuing a notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) regarding activist Gautam Navlakha's bail plea. The division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and SG Dige has directed the NIA to respond to Navlakha's plea, which challenges the rejection of his regular bail application by a special court.
During the hearing, the High Court also instructed the lawyers involved in the case to ensure accurate recording of all relevant dates since the bail plea had been heard twice by the special court.
The special NIA court had previously rejected Navlakha's plea after re-hearing the case as directed by the High Court. In its order, the special court stated that Navlakha was a member of the banned terrorist organization Communist Party of India (Maoist), responsible for attacking and killing numerous government security forces. The court also expressed belief that there were reasonable grounds to consider the accusations against Navlakha as prima facie true.
Navlakha, represented by advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhary, filed an appeal asserting that the special judge had erred in reasoning while rejecting the bail plea. He contested the observation of his alleged involvement with the banned terrorist group, deeming it incorrect and unjustified. Navlakha sought the quashing of the bail order and requested the court to release him on bail.
Arrested in August 2018, Navlakha's plea to be shifted from prison to house arrest was granted by the Supreme Court on November 10, 2022. He is presently residing in Navi Mumbai city of Thane district.
This marks Navlakha's second appeal in the High Court seeking regular bail. Previously, he approached the High Court after his regular bail plea was dismissed by the special NIA court on September 5 of the previous year.
Opposing Navlakha's bail plea, the NIA claimed that he had been introduced to a Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General for recruitment, suggesting his connection to the organization.
The High Court, however, criticized the special court's order, stating that its reasoning lacked analysis of the prosecution's relied-upon evidence and was cryptic in nature.
Consequently, the High Court ruled that the bail application must undergo a fresh hearing before the special court and remanded the case back to that court. It also directed the special judge, Rajesh Katariya, to conclude the hearing within four weeks.
In accordance with this ruling, Navlakha moved the special court for a re-hearing of his regular bail plea. Unfortunately, on April 6, the special judge re-heard the plea on the same grounds and rejected the bail application, leading to the present appeal.
TAGS: Bhima Koregaon violence Gautam Navlakha bail plea Bombay High Court National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court regular bail application notice reply special NIA court banned terrorist organization Communist Party of India (Maoist) prima facie true appeal advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhary quashing house arrest Supreme Court Navi Mumbai Thane district second round of appeal September 5 2022 Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) special judge Rajesh Katariya fresh hearing remanded conclusion four weeks grounds rejection.
